Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 178117 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 891(@200wpm)___ 712(@250wpm)___ 594(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 178117 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 891(@200wpm)___ 712(@250wpm)___ 594(@300wpm)
Felix. Dylan. Alistair.
A smirk forms on my lips as I turn to them. “What do you think?”
“Perfect,” Dylan replies.
Alistair nods too. “I like it.”
I turn to Felix, who just studies it, and his tongue slowly runs across his teeth. “Exactly how it should be.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re happy,” the tattoo artist says as he moves to the cash register. “Cash or credit?”
Felix slaps down his credit card. “Credit.”
My alarm clock goes off, and I check the time. “Shit, we’re late.” I grab Dylan’s and Ali’s hands and race out the door.
“Hey, wait on me,” Felix says, and he follows suit.
“C’mon, it’s just down the road,” I say, and I drag them all the way to Fi’s Cups And Cakes.
“It’s only been a minute. Relax,” Dylan says.
We cross the street, and I check my phone several times to hurry us up. “Here it is.”
The second we all step inside, my mother’s eyes homing in on us almost make me drop my bag.
It’s the first time she’s seeing me with the boys.
The same boys who hung out with my sister.
The same boys who carry some of the blame.
I wave awkwardly and approach the table she’s sitting at with a steaming cup of tea in her hands. There are just enough chairs for us all, and when I sit down, she picks up her tea.
“Hi,” I say.
She takes a sip before responding.
“Pen,” she says. “I’m glad you’re okay.” She eyes the boys next to me with mistrust. “But them …”
The air is uncomfortable.
The server comes and takes the boys’ orders, but when they say nothing, I fill in for them, “Four coffees, please. Black.”
The server leaves again, but the whole café still feels too small for all of us sitting at this table.
“Mom,” I mutter.
“Is he dead?”
I nod, and she sucks in a hampered breath.
“I’m sorry,” I say, and I reach for her hand.
“I almost lost a second daughter,” she mutters, tears welling up in her eyes. “My only one left.”
I can’t let her cry like that. I jump up from my seat and circle around the table, and I hug her tight. We cry and smile and hug so tightly I never want to let go.
“After your father told me what happened, I thought I almost lost you,” she murmurs.
“I’m not going anywhere. Not anytime soon. I love you, Mom.” I pull back and look her in the eyes, crying too. “I avenged her.”
She smiles through her tears. “I’m proud of you.” When I pull away, her eyes are already fixated on the guys. “What about them?”
I sit back down on my seat again.
“Why are they with you now?” she asks.
“They helped me kill the man responsible,” I explain.
Felix and Ali nod. Dylan swallows. “He was my father.”
Her face contorts. “Then you know that rot grows deep.”
I grasp Dylan’s hand, settling him. I know it’s hard for him. He lost a father that night, no matter how evil.
“I know what my father did was unforgivable. But I am not my father,” Dylan says. “And I will spend every day of the rest of my life proving that to your daughter.” He leans in. “And I promise to you, I will take good care of her.”
Her lips grow thinner. “I know what you did with Eve …”
“I loved her,” Dylan says, and I squeeze his hand. “Just like I love Penelope.”
“And the others?” she asks.
Felix grabs my thigh.
“She’s ours as much as we are hers,” Felix says.
“Yes,” Alistair adds. “We’d take a bullet for her.”
“And you think you can claim my daughter after being responsible for the death of the other?” she seethes.
“Mom,” I mutter. “I love them.”
She stares at me for a moment with her jaw dropped. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this amazed.
“You … love them?”
“Yes,” I say.
The server returns with our cups of coffee, but the silence is brutal and feels like it lasts an eternity until she finally leaves again.
“So you love those boys…” my mother murmurs.
“And I don’t intend to stop,” I say. “Ever.”
Ali’s and Felix’s grips on my arm strengthen.
My mother sighs, defeat showing on her face. “I just pray you made the right decision.”
“I’ll protect her with my life,” Ali says.
“And I’ll kill anyone who dares to hurt her,” Felix adds.
“Even yourself?” my mother retorts.
A soft smile spreads on my lips. “I’ll kill them myself if it ever comes to that.”
Dylan looks at me, sporting a smirk.
I know he likes it when I get violent.
My mother snorts. “Well, sounds like you’ve found yourself some boys that fit you.”
“What can I say?” I muse. “Like mother, like daughter.”
She smiles, and it brings warmth to my heart. “I guess I may have told you a bit too much about my life and how I met your dad.”
“Nope. It gave me all the inspiration I needed,” I retort, and I wink.